(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Japan’s cabinet continues to lose public support just six months after taking office, according to a poll by Kyodo News. 49 per cent of respondents disapprove of the government led by Yukio Hatoyama, up 15 points since December.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Japan’s cabinet continues to lose public support just six months after taking office, according to a poll by Kyodo News. 49 per cent of respondents disapprove of the government led by Yukio Hatoyama, up 15 points since December.
In August 2009, Japanese voters renewed the House of Representatives. Final results gave the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) a victory with 308 of the 480 lower house seats at stake. Hatoyama, the DPJ leader, was sworn in as prime minister in September.
Aside from a brief period in the 1990s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had administered Japan’s government for more than five decades.
The former LDP-led government was marred by corruptions scandals. The new government has been the subject of suspicions as well.
In December, Hatoyama was criticized after it was revealed that political donations registered under the names of several individuals actually came from his mother. The Japanese prime minister has acknowledged receiving a monthly contribution of about $164,000 U.S. from his mother, but vowed to pay back taxes and penalties amounting to about $6.5 million U.S.
In January, three current and former aides of Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ’s secretary general, were arrested and charged with falsifying information in party fundraising reports. The three men were identified as Mitsutomo Ikeda, current DPJ lawmaker Tomohiro Ishikawa, and Takanori Okubo.
On Mar. 12, Hatoyama said the yen’s current high value is sending mixed messages about the state of Japan’s finances, saying, "Japan’s economy and industries aren’t necessarily strong. I think we need to take firm steps against such yen strength."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Yukio Hatoyama’s cabinet?
|
Mar. 2010
|
Feb. 2010
|
Dec. 2009
|
|
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Approve
|
36%
|
37%
|
48%
|
|
Disapprove
|
49%
|
46%
|
34%
|
Source: Kyodo News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,011 Japanese adults, conducted on Mar. 6 and Mar. 7, 2010. No margin of error was provided.
